Editing Key West (section)

==Military presence==
[[Naval Air Station Key West|NAS Key West]], [[Boca Chica Key|Boca Chica]] and the [[Truman Annex]] have been the home of U.S. ships, submarines, [[Pegasus-class hydrofoil|''Pegasus''-class hydrofoils]], Fighter Training Squadrons like the current [[VFC-111]] "Sundowners", and Light Photographic Reconnaissance Squadrons like the former [[VFP-62]] "Fighting Photos" during the Cuban Missile Crisis. [[Naval Air Station Key West|NAS Key West]] is still a training facility for US Naval Aviation personnel.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Regions/cnrse/installations/nas_key_west/about/history/|title=Naval Air Station Key West|website=Naval Air Station Key West|access-date=2021-11-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/military-installation/naval-air-station-key-west/base-essentials/major-units|title=Naval Air Station Key West|website=Naval Air Station Key West|access-date=2021-11-03}}</ref>

Key West has had a military presence since 1823, shortly after its purchase by Simonton in 1822. John W. Simonton lobbied the U.S. government to establish a naval base on Key West, both to take advantage of its strategic location and to bring law and order to the Key West town. On March 25, 1822, naval officer [[Matthew C. Perry]] sailed the [[USS Shark (1821)|schooner Shark]] to Key West and planted the U.S. flag claiming the Keys as United States property. In 1823, a naval base was established to protect shipping merchants in the lower keys from pirates that would eventually evolve through the Civil War, the Spanish American War, two world wars, and the Cold War as [[Naval Station Key West]], eventually home to the [[Fleet Sonar School]], Marine Barracks Key West, [[Submarine Squadron 4]], Submarine Squadron 12, Destroyer Squadron 12, and various diesel-powered submarines and surface ships. NAVSTA Key West was closed in 1974 as part of post-Vietnam War force reductions across the Department of Defense. A portion of the original NAVSTA Key West still remains under Navy control as Naval Air Station Key West-[[Truman Annex]] while a portion containing [[Fort Zachary Taylor]] was conveyed to the State of Florida as Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. The Truman Little White House has also been preserved as a museum based on its history as a part-time residence of President Harry S. Truman during his presidency. The remainder of the original base was conveyed to civilian control for redevelopment and now comprises The Key West Amphitheater, Truman Waterfront Park, residential redevelopment consisting of both homes and condominiums, and a portion of [[Mallory Square]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.keywesthistoricmarkertour.org/marker/465|title=KWHMT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.trumanlittlewhitehouse.com/key-west/military-history|title=Military History of Key West|website=Truman Little White House}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00005067/00001/1j|title=United States Navy and the City of Key West, Florida (805)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tendertale.com/ttd/ttd15/ttd15.html|title=Tender Tale – Sub Bases -> New Guinea / South West Pacific}}</ref>

Key West was always an important military post, since it sits at the northern edge of the deepwater channel connecting the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico (the southern edge {{convert|90|mi|km|-1|disp=sqbr}} away is Cuba) via the [[Florida Straits]]. Because of this, Key West since the 1820s had been dubbed the "Gibraltar of the West". Fort Taylor was initially built on the island. The Navy added a small base from which {{USS|Maine|ACR-1|6}} sailed to its demise in [[Havana]] at the beginning of the [[Spanish–American War]] which later evolved into NAVSTA Key West.

===Naval Air Station Key West===
[[File:Steven W. Groves.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|{{USS|Stephen W. Groves|FFG-29}} as seen at sunset in Key West on July 22, 2007. This ship is typical of the frigates, destroyers, and smaller military vessels that call at the port. Larger ships, such as aircraft carriers, are prohibited because of their deep draft and the shallowness of the harbor.]]
At the beginning of [[World War II]] the Navy increased its presence from {{convert|50|to|3000|acre|ha|abbr=off}}, including all of [[Boca Chica Key]]'s {{convert|1700|acre|ha}} and the construction of [[Fleming Key]] from landfill. The Navy built the first water pipeline extending the length of the Keys, bringing fresh water from the mainland to supply its bases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/papers/keys_geohydro/|title=SOFIA – Paper – Geology and Hydrogeology of the Florida Keys|first=Tracy J.|last=Enright|access-date=July 16, 2018|archive-date=September 21, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921101036/http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/papers/keys_geohydro/|url-status=dead}}</ref> At its peak 15,000 military personnel and 3,400 civilians were at the base. Included in the base are:
* '''[[Naval Air Station Key West]]''' – This is the main facility on Boca Chica. The air station's primary purpose is readiness training for carrier-based strike fighter, electronic attack and carrier airborne early warning squadrons of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and U.S. Pacific Fleet, primarily via the Fleet Fighter Aircrew Readiness Program (FFARP), honing the skills of [[Naval Aviator]]s and [[Naval Flight Officer]]s in air combat training prior to overseas deployment. An additional squadron permanently based at NAS Key West, Fighter Composite Squadron 111 ([[VFC-111]]), is composed of both active duty and Navy Reserve pilots who fly [[F-5 Tiger II]] aircraft as simulated enemy aggressors in Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) for Fleet aircrews, primarily using the offshore Key West Tactical Air Crew Training System (TACTS) Range. Permanent party officer and enlisted personnel assigned to NAS Key West are primarily housed at the Navy's Sigsbee Park housing area eight miles to the west or in private housing on the local economy. In 2006 there were 1,650 active duty personnel; 2,507 family members; 35 Reserve members; and 1,312 civilians listed at the base. In the 1990s the Navy worked out an agreement with the [[National Park Service]] to eliminate [[sonic booms]] in the vicinity of [[Fort Jefferson, Florida|Fort Jefferson]] in the [[Dry Tortugas]]. Many of the training missions are directed at the ''Marquesas "Patricia" Target'' {{convert|29|nmi|km}} due west of the base. The target is a grounded ship hulk {{convert|306|ft|m}} in length that is visible only at low tide. Bombs are not actually dropped on the target.
* '''Truman Annex''' – The area next to Fort Taylor became a submarine pen and was used for the Fleet Sonar School. President Harry S. Truman was to make the commandant's house his winter White House. The Fort Taylor Annex was later renamed the [[Truman Annex]]. This portion has largely been decommissioned, with [[Fort Zachary Taylor]] conveyed to the State of Florida as a state park and the remainder turned over to private developers and the city of Key West. There are still a few military and U.S. government offices and facilities there, including the new NOAA Hurricane Forecasting Center and the military headquarters for [[Joint Interagency Task Force South]], an element of [[U.S. Southern Command]]. The Navy still owns its piers.
* '''Trumbo Point Annex''' – The docking area on what had been the railroad yard for Flagler's Overseas Railroad is now used by the [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] as '''Coast Guard Sector Key West''' and '''Coast Guard Station Key West''', to include being the homeport for several Coast Guard cutters. It is also home to the Bachelor Officers Quarters (BOQ) for NAS Key West and contains additional married family military housing.